NBC/WSJ poll: Approval of Congress hits bottom

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that the approval rating for Congress has tied its all-time low in the history of the survey, while its disapproval rating has tied its all-time high.

According to the poll, only 12 percent of registered voters approve of the legislative branch's job. The only other time it was that low was in Oct. 2008.

In addition, a whopping 82 percent disapprove of Congress' job, and the only other time it reached that level was in Aug. 2011 -- which was right after the bruising debt-ceiling fight.

Much of this survey was conducted before two controversial or embarrassing incidents for House Republicans.

On Sunday, Aug. 19, Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) -- who is the GOP's nominee in Missouri's Senate race -- explained his opposition to abortion even in cases of rape by saying: "If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut [the pregnancy] down."

Also on Sunday, Politico first reported that House Republicans last year took a dip in the Sea of Galilee in an evening involving alcohol; one member, Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) was nude.

The NBC/WSJ poll also shows that 36 percent view the Republican Party in a positive light, versus 45 percent who view it negatively.

By comparison, 42 percent have a favorable view of the Democratic Party, while 40 percent have a negative opinion. Both sets of numbers are similar to last month's.

The full NBC/WSJ poll -- which was conducted Aug. 16-20 of 1,000 registered voters (300 by cell phone) -- will be released at 6:30 pm ET.